This course covers a set of conceptual tools that are useful for understanding “globalization”. We will use these tools to answer questions about how countries, firms and workers respond to international trade. The pre-requisites for this course are two terms of introductory economics.
Office Hours
Monday 230-4pm. If you would like to meet outside of class, please email me (peter.schott@yale.edu) a few times that work for you and I will pick one. Please feel free to email questions at any time; I will try to return them promptly.
Teaching Assistants
The teaching assistants for this course are Trevor Williams (trevor.c.williams@yale.edu) and Lucas Conwell (lucas.conwell@yale.edu). Please feel free to email them with questions as well.
Discussion Sections
TBD
Class Discussion
I encourage discussion. Please ask questions during class. I will feel free to call on you.
NOTE
Laptops are NOT permitted in class. Tablets may be allowed if you use them to take notes and they lay flat on your dektop. Please see me if this creates undue difficulty of if you have any questions.
Textbooks
There are two recommended textbooks that complement the lectures, problem sets and exams. I recommend you get ONE of these as there is NO NEED to have both. They are:
NOTE
International Trade by Feenstra and Taylor. This text is now in its fourth edition (ISBN-13: 978-1319061739), but any edition is fine for our purposes, and earlier editions are much cheaper. Note that Feenstra and Taylor also author a version of this book that contains international macro chapters which is called International Economics. We will not be using those chapters, but the first half of this larger textbook contains the trade chapters we need. I refer to this textbook as FT in the class calendar above
NOTE
International Economics by Krugman, Obstfeld and Melitz. Any edition after the ninth would be fine for this course. Here, too, earlier editions are very cheap. I refer to this textbook as KOMv9+ in the class calendar above.
Optional Readings
The following books are optional and quite good:
NOTE
Free Trade Under Fire by Doug Irwin
The Choice by Russell Roberts
Pop Internationalism by Paul Krugman
Case Studies
The class will likely make use of one or two case studies published by the Harvard Business School. These will be posted to the class schedule and Canvas as the semester proceeds.
Class Assignments
Problem sets are to be handed in electronically via Canvas if possible, or at the front of the classroom at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Problem sets are posted to the “assignments” section of Canvas. Problem set due dates are as noted on the class calendar and in the “assignments” section of Canvas. I reserve the right to add/subtract assignments as we go along. Problem sets are equally weighted.
NOTE
The lowest problem set score will be dropped, except in the case of any “double” assignments, in which case only half of the low grade will be dropped.
NOTE
You may work with up to 1 partner on problem sets, and hand in the solutions either jointly or individually. If you work with a partner YOU MUST DECLARE THIS on the solutions you hand in.
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NOTE: use of solution sets from prior-year assignments is expressly forbidden and will be considered a violation of academic integrity.
Grading
The final grade will be a weighted average of class assignments (30%), the midterm (35%) and the final (35%).
Academic Integrity
No student's name should appear on a group project if the student has not contributed to the production of the project. The following is an example of unacceptable conduct: Neo agrees to produce a case write-up, putting Trinity's name on the case write-up. Trinity agrees to repay Neo by producing a subsequent assignment on his own.
NOTE
In group work, all group members are responsible for the integrity of work that is submitted. Group members should always question other members about the source of material and analysis that is being included in group projects. If a group member has any concerns about the integrity of material being submitted by the group, that group member should discuss those concerns with the instructor.
NOTE
Note that I re-use assignments over time. It is a violation of academic integrity to rely on any work from prior iterations of this or any related course in working on your assignments for this iteration of the course.
Plagiarism
The members of any academic community are expected not to present ideas or material from other sources as their own. In the context of this course, it is acceptable to, for example:
NOTE
Refer to concepts, frameworks, and analytical tools from the readings or class lectures without citation. For example, you may refer to the five forces, added value, sustainable competitive advantage, signaling, and so on without citing the source.
Refer to the material in cases without citations. For example, you do not need to cite the HBS case in your case analysis when you refer to factual information from the text or tables.
However, it is not acceptable to quote or paraphrase analysis from another source and present it as your own. For example, it would be unacceptable to find an analysis of your case project company on the web and quote or paraphrase it in the analysis you hand in without correctly attributing it. There is a difference between consulting a source and then forming your own opinion based on what you have read, and "lifting" material directly.